Formerly Homeless Veteran Hits Streets to Help Others Get Back on Their Feet

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Just like the folks he now serves, Lamont Grodeck used to be homeless. 

As he stood outside the Centralia Train Depot on a cold Wednesday afternoon, he scanned for familiar faces as people walked past the transit center. 

Grodeck runs his own veteran-based homeless outreach called American Pride Associates, and he said working from that angle, as a veteran, he understands homelessness presents its own challenges for those who have served. 

“We’re too damn proud to ask for help,” he said. 

Years after his own military service ended, Grodeck said, he ended up on the streets living out of a van. He worked various jobs and struggled with addiction. 

But that all changed in 2001 following Sept. 11. Like millions of Americans, he heard about the attacks, but that moment spurred him to action, Grodeck said. 

He decided to get clean and turn his life around, and after spending time recovering in Portland, he moved to Olympia where he got involved in outreach programs. It became his motivation for staying clean. 

“Get involved doing something,” he said. 

While he partners with many area organizations, his outreach program has been based out of Grand Mound for around the last four years. 

He said he will help anyone, but if donations he receives are earmarked for veterans, he’ll try to honor that. 

Grodeck, his wife and son comprise his outreach and head down to the station every Wednesday with a large tote container he calls “Monty’s Box.” It’s packed with items like socks, razors, gloves, hats, Bibles, sleeping bags and more. He’ll set it up and wait for people to come by, where he’ll offer them some essentials and conversation.

For Grodeck, while he’ll help the people he meets get connected and off the streets if they ask, he said he’s there mainly to provide a helping hand. 



“You just give it out and do what you can,” he said. 

He’ll also make appearances at local events, like the recent Thanksgiving dinner at Gather Church, where he showed up not to eat, but to check in with people he’s met on the streets. 

“We’ll just come and hang out,” he said. 

American Pride Associates also accepts appliances and furniture, which he gives to people transitioning from homelessness to low-income housing. Items like microwaves or even a chair can make a big difference to many folks, he said. 

There’s a core group of 35 to 40 people he regularly sees around town, with many more who blow through town. But regardless of if they’re residents or not, Grodeck still offers them help. 

Running an outreach program doesn’t come without expenses, and the used truck Grodeck recently purchased to shuttle his family and conduct his outreach has around around one week’s worth of gas left, he said. 

At it’s core, it seems that American Pride Associates has a simple, human message. 

“Just cause you’re homeless doesn’t mean you can’t have pride,” Grodeck said. 

Grodeck also said that many people may view people experiencing homelessness as addicts or irresponsible, but cautioned that in an economy that has seen many of the best jobs go to larger cities, it’s a circumstance that can happen suddenly and indiscriminately. 

“The way the times are, it could be anybody,” he said. “You could lose your job, you could get a divorce.” 

While they’re working on a website, Grodeck said the best way to reach them is to email or call them at AmericanPrideAssociates@yahoo.com or 360-489-8016. 

As winter’s bone-chilling weather descends on Southwest Washington, services like Grodeck’s may be more essential now than any other time of year.